From Ashes to Roses
by stareyedsaggi
Summary: Hi! this is me Amber... I am here again to trouble all of you with another story. Well I know I haven't finished the other story yet but I got this fabulous idea overnite that I just had to type out! so please read and review! Chapter 2 Updated!
1. Chapter 1

"Elizabeth loves singing too. In fact she lives, eats and sleeps on music," Alice, her mother's excited voice boomed across the living room as 23 year old Elizabeth Wakefield entered her house.

The look of surprise in Elizabeth's face immediately changed into a look of disgust. She shook her head and hit her forehead in irritation.

"Mom and Jess are at it again," she thought to herself.

He was the seventh guy this month. Her mother and sister were really going to get it this time.

She softly closed the door and tiptoed inside slowly trying to get to her room without anyone's notice.

"Your sister has really outdone herself this time," a teasing voice told her from behind.

She turned around to see her brother, Steven and Jeremy Aames, her sister's husband standing and smirking at her.

"Yup!" Jeremy agreed with Steven. He came over and put an arm around her shoulder. "This guy isn't like others, you see," he said imitating Jessica's way of explaining such things to me.

"He is smart, can sing well, is into computers aaaannnd" Steven exaggerated "and he is surprisingly handsome"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and freed herself from Jeremy's arms.

"Shut up" she hissed at the laughing duo. "Just tell them I am sick and I don't want to meet him."

This really tempted Steven and he simply couldn't let go of this opportunity.

"Mom, Elizabeth is home," Steven shouted as Elizabeth whacked him hard.

"Watch it sis," he warned as he rubbed where she had hit him. "Your future husband won't like it if your are so violent."

She was about to charge on him when she heard her mother's voice calling her.

"You are going to pay for this Steve," she shouted as she walked into the living room pasting a smile on her face to see the new "Match" for her.

She stepped in to see a guy clad in formal shirt and pants, chatting with her mother and sister.

She immediately noticed his blond hair, muscled features and his smart looks as he talked animatedly. Her first impression of him was good unlike the others who had stopped by in the last few weeks. She saw the smile that played on his luscious red lips and the twinkle present in his gorgeous brown eyes.

She stood mesmerized for a second till she felt all the eyes on her. She snapped back into reality. She knew however handsome or nice he was, it was not going to work out. She wasn't ready. She would never be ready. She didn't want another man in her life. It would almost be like betraying…

She closed her eyes shut immediately. She couldn't let those thoughts take over her. She didn't want to break down in front of this stranger.

"Elizabeth. Come on. Sit with us," she called.

Elizabeth walked over employing her irritated look once more and sat next to her.

Jessica nudged the guy encouraging him to speak up and Elizabeth stifled a giggle. The guy seemed hopeless, no matter how handsome he was.

"H…h…hey" he stammered.

"Hey," Elizabeth said nonchalantly.

"Well…" her mother started and she knew what was coming "I have some work in the kitchen. Why don't you both talk. Jess will you help me?"

She watched both of them disappear into the kitchen and turned to face this guy to speak all that she had spoken to the last six guys. Elizabeth almost had it by-heart.

"Listen…ummm…"

"Tom" he offered "Tom watts"

"Yes Tom. I know my mother and my sister would have fed you with a lot of information, raising your hope about a lot of things, but seriously I am not interested."

He opened his mouth to speak but Elizabeth stopped him.

"Let me finish" she said and he nodded.

"Look, I maybe single but I am not yet interested in getting involved with someone."

"Yeah your mother told me about what happened and I am really sorry about it. But we can't keep thinking about…"

"Get up." She interrupted him, standing up herself.

"Whoa" he looked at her surprised.

"I repeat myself. Please get up. The door is that way," she pointed towards the door, her temper rising.

He looked annoyed, clearly annoyed because of her sudden tantrum. He glared at her mother who was standing on the kitchen doorway witnessing the scene, a look of surprise on her face too. But she didn't dare to open her mouth.

He got up and stomped away without looking back. Elizabeth couldn't blame him. After all, she had insulted him.

She still had another unfinished job to be done. She still couldn't digest the fact that her mother had told a complete stranger her life history. Her life was not a joke that could be told to every passerby, especially some dumbass from the dating agency, who was ready to laugh at her.

She walked over to her mother who was trying hard to avoid her gaze.

"This is the limit. If you call anyone else in this house without asking my permission then… then… you will find me dead" She screamed frustrated.

Jessica gasped and so did everyone else. Jeremy and Steven's usually jovial faces, looked serious and pained.

"I can't believe you told that complete stranger what happened with me. You had no right."

"But Liz, he was the perfect match…"Alice started.

"Don't use that word." Elizabeth interrupted, my eyes burning with tears that were threatening to flow out.

"Don't ever say it. No one can be my perfect match. No one can take his position in my heart and all of you never forget that." She risked one last look around the room and then ran upstairs to her room.

Everyone flinched as they heard the door slam.

A sob escaped Jessica's mouth, breaking the silence. Jeremy walked over to her side and hugged her as she cried on his shoulders.

"I thought…I wanted… I just …" Alice sobbed.

"Mom," Steven whispered walking over to her side and comforting her. "You must understand that she is not ready. Don't blame yourself. You only wanted her happy. It is not your fault."

"She will never talk with me again. Oh god! I never wanted to see that pain again in her eyes but… but now I am the cause for it."

Steven opened his mouth to say something comforting but no words came out. He shivered as his mind wavered to what happened a year ago.

He caught Jeremy's gaze and shrugged. Then he slowly released his mother and cautiously walked over to Liz's room.

"Elizabeth," he whispered, knocking softly at her door.

"Go away" a muffled voice came from behind the door.

"Please. Let me in,"

"I said go away. Leave me alone" she screamed a little louder.

"Liz…" he started.

"Get lost," she screamed once more and he heard the sound of something being thrown at the door. Frightened he backed off and walked to his room, and slumped on his bed.

He closed his eyes in deep thought. The last time Elizabeth had been this upset after the incident, she had tried to commit suicide and he didn't want it to happen again. He shuddered thinking about the trauma she might be facing now, the memories that might flood back into her delicate mind, the pain that might travel through her vulnerable body. In the entire year he along with Jeremy had tried their best to cheer her up by cracking lame jokes, by teasing her, by just making her laugh. But he knew deep down his heart that how much ever he tried, he would be unable to totally erase the pain away from her heart. It was only possible if she would just get the courage to move on…to fall in love with someone else…  
But he wasn't sure how long it was going to take.

Elizabeth slowly walked over to her dressing table and looked strangely at he face that was staring at her from inside the mirror. All she could see was a girl, who looked exactly like her except her face, which was pale, her eyes, that were swollen and red, her hair, that had lost all its shine and was now just a thick, dry mess, and her body, that looked weak and thin. A set of fresh tears formed in her eyes. She closed her eyes hoping that when she opened them, the stranger in the mirror would vanish off and her image would appear. But it didn't happen. So much had changed in just one year.

So much had happened in a year. She was no longer the same Elizabeth everyone knew and loved. She never wanted to go back to that life again. She hated it. It brought back so many bad memories.

She slowly reached for the photo that was kept on her bedside table. Her hands slightly shivered as she picked it up. She looked at it for sometime till she had another breakdown. She knew she couldn't just forget everything. Her mother, Jessica, Steven, Jeremy, everyone wanted her to move on; they wanted her to forget everything that happened. She hated seeing them upset because of her. She had seen their worried and pained faces when she had tried to kill herself. She didn't want it to return back. For sometime, she had tried to play along with her mother's and sister's plan for setting her up with a boyfriend but after today she wasn't sure she could ever handle another man in her life who would only sympathize and pity her but never love her… never love her like him…

She stared at the photo for some more time. Then she got up regained her composure and slowly opened the door. Her mother and sister were still downstairs. She caught Jessica's eye as she came down.

"Liz" she whispered as she ran towards Elizabeth and hugged her.

"I am sorry," she sobbed.

Elizabeth hugged her sister closer, tears flowing through her own eyes. Her mother looked at her and she nodded, reassuring her that she wasn't angry.

She released her hold on Jessica and met her eyes.

"Listen," she whispered slowly "Lets just forget what happened today, okay?"

Jessica nodded softly.

Elizabeth smiled at her sister and nodded back. She slowly walked over to her mother.

"I am not angry, just upset," she assured her mother as she took her hand in hers.

"I am sorry," her mother whispered as she kissed her daughter on her forehead. "I wont do it again," she promised.

"I know you wanted me to be happy but I am not yet ready. And I don't think I need a boyfriend to keep me happy."

With that Elizabeth walked back to her room.


	2. Chapter 2

** Hey! The second chapter is ready. Well it is again a little sob-sob like the first chapter. But I have revealed soem clues about "Him" and what might have happened to him in this chapter. See if you can spot it. By the way those lines in italics are flashbacks. Anyways, happy reading. Ciao>**

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**Chapter 2 **

_**I'd like to run away from you  
But if I were to leave you I would die   
I'd like to break the chains you put around me  
And yet I'll never try**_

_**No matter what you do you drive me crazy  
I'd rather be alone  
But then I know my life would be so empty  
As soon as you were gone**_

_**Impossible to live with you  
But I could never live without you  
For whatever you do, I never  
Want to be in love with anyone but you**_

_**You make me sad  
You make me strong  
You make me mad  
You make me long for you**_

_**You make me live  
You make me die  
You make me laugh  
You make me cry for you**_

_**I hate you  
Then I love you  
Then I love you  
Then I hate you   
Then I love you more  
For whatever you do, I never  
Want to be in love with anyone but you**_

Elizabeth let some tears fall as she finished singing the last lines. After the mishap, Elizabeth had let everyone believe that she had completely lost touch with music. She preferred it that way. At least then no one would pester her to sing songs for every idiot around or irritate her to agree for gigs. Even though music was her soul, she didn't think she had the strength to go up on stage and sing without remembering the way she used to lock eyes with him as she sang, the way he used to smile at her as she finished their favorite song, the way he used to tenderly kiss her once she was backstage……

Elizabeth shook her head and sighed. It was just too much to take. She knew that she couldn't give up her music altogether. He wouldn't want her to either. Music meant a lot to her. That why, she preferred singing to herself when she was alone at home. Like now. Her parents had gone for some dinner party, Steven and his wife, Billy were visiting some relative of Billy, and Jess and Jeremy, only God knew where they were. But she was alone at home and that's all counted. She loved the peace. It gave her a lot of space for herself, to think, to rediscover herself, to go down the memory lane without having anyone to question her about the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

She got up from her bed and walked towards the window.

**Whatever you do, I never,  
Want to be in love with anyone but you.**

"Why did you leave me?" she whispered as she looked up at the sky. She could almost picturise his image appearing on the clouds. She could visualize those warm brown eyes, that soft brown hair, those rose lips smiling at her, those strong hands reaching to touch her.

"I love you," she said expectantly looking at those clouds to repeat what she said.

As a cold breeze suddenly swept through her hair, she felt as though the clouds had responded. She smiled slowly at the sky and then walked back to her table. She opened the drawer and picked up the notebook where she had written all her songs.

"_Sing me a nice song and I will tell you that I love you" _

_Elizabeth laughed and ruffled his hair. She sat down and stretched her legs. He lay down beside her with his head on her lap and looked at her expectantly. Elizabeth's heart melted at the smile that played at his lips. She gazed into his twinkling eyes and couldn't resist another smile._

"_So this is all about my music. You don't really love me do you?" she asked him teasingly._

"_What gave you the idea?" he asked in mock horror._

_She whacked him lovingly and they both laughed. _

**Soft heavenly eyes gazed into me  
Transcending space and time  
And I was rendered still  
There were no words for me to find at all  
As I stood there beside myself  
I could see you and no one else**

**When I saw you  
I could not breathe, I feel so deep  
When I saw you   
I'd never be, I'd never be the same**

**With beginning and  
Without an end  
You are the one for me  
It's evident  
And your eyes told me so  
Your eyes let me know...**

**When I saw you  
I could not breathe, I feel so deep  
When I saw you  
I'd never be, I'd never be the same...**

"_I love you," he whispered to her as she finished. She smiled at him. He sat up and cupped her face in his hands._

"_I lov…" she started but he stopped her as he placed his finger over her mouth. She looked at him quizzically but instead of answering her, he traced his fingers along the outline of her lips. He held her gaze as he softly kissed her lips. She responded with equal love and passion. He pulled back and slowly shifted his lips to her eyes. Kissing each slowly. She relished his soft lips as they traced her neck and then moved to her ear. She could feel his breath linger on her ear._

"_Now tell me what you wanted to say before" he whispered huskily into her ears._

"_I love you," she whispered back; breathless as she felt his lips brushing hers again. _

Elizabeth smiled through her tears as she flipped to the page of that song, she had sung for him that day. It was one his favorites.

"Tell me again how you felt when you saw me?" he used to tease her every time he wanted to hear that song.

The doorbell rang. She immediately wiped her tears, mustered a smile and ran down the stairs.

"Coming"

She opened the door.

"Oh hi mom. Hi dad. You guys are back soon"

"It was quite a boring party," Ned said smiling at his daughter.

"He might have as well said that he was worried about me staying alone at home" Elizabeth mused to herself as she smiled back at her father.

"So what were you doing, princess?"

"Nothing much dad. Just hanging out in my room, you know"

He nodded.

He looked at Alice and then back at Elizabeth. Elizabeth could see what was coming. Another lecture about how she should move on with her life, go out and be like other girls of her age. But her dad said nothing. He just sighed and walked to the den. Elizabeth watched her father leave, surprised.

"Did you eat dinner?" Alice asked snapping Elizabeth out of her trans.

"Uh…huh… no I didn't"

"Sit down. I will serve"

"I can serve myself." Elizabeth snapped. She hated it when her mother thought she couldn't do anything on her own. She watched as her mothers face paled and she immediately regretted having said those words.

"You should probably rest. You must be tired. I will take care of myself."

Alice nodded and without saying another word went to join her husband in the den.

"I don't understand why she is so distant from me," Alice complained as she sat next to her husband.

"Give her some time will you?"

"How much time should I give her Ned? One whole year has gone by. She doesn't respond properly. She doesn't eat or sleep properly. When will I get my daughter back?"

"She has gone through a lot, Alice. Understand that," he said softly to his wife as he slowly rubbed her back to calm her down.

"Well I am sick and tired of understanding. She is 23, Ned. She doesn't have a good professional or personal life. She remains all day at home. Never goes out anywhere. She works in that coffee shop, for god's sake," Alice paused and looked at her husband.

He hugged his wife and ran his hands through her hair, soothing her as she sobbed on his shoulders.

"I always saw Liz as this great journalist, going around places, reporting news. Where did I go wrong?"

"Its not your fault, Alice. Some things in this world happen without our consent."

Another sob escaped his wife's mouth and Ned looked helplessly at her.

"Its just a matter of time. All she needs is to find someone who will show her a reason to live. Someone who will love her more than he ever did. Have faith Alice, that's all we can hope for."

She knew deep down that what her husband was saying was true. But will there ever be a person like that?

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** So what do you think? Curious to know who he is? well I have soemone in mind but I am welcome to suggestions. Oh yeah don't forget to review. Look out for more twists and turns in the next chapter. Keep reading! Luv ya all!**

**P.S. The first song is by Celine Dion- I love this song... its so moving. And the second is by Mariah Carey... It has great lyrics... Both make me go mushy...hmmmmmmmmm...**

**P.P.S Dont forget to review. Have a Nice day! Bye Bye>**


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